Thursday, June 23, 2005

Today's Hoot!

R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. - Biden His Time:
Whew, these are difficult times for those of us who expect a laugh or two out of politics. Yet happiness is back. We can laugh again. The irrepressible Senator Joe Biden has announced on CBS's Face the Nation that he is seeking the presidency. He thought about running in 2004, but feared he had gotten the presidential itch too late. Dr. Howard Dean was already a shoo-in. Now he only has Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to worry about, and Senator Biden apparently is not all that worried. Perhaps he shares my childlike belief that the American people are becoming impatient with liars. Senator Clinton has been caught lying so many times by independent counsels and others that the American people will give her candidacy short shrift.
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You might recall that Senator Biden ran once before, seeking the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination. Within no time he was caught plagiarizing from the stock speech of Neil Kinnock, who was then hidden away in London as leader of Britain's Labour Party. Soon it was discovered that he had also plagiarized from other little known figures, Robert Kennedy, Hubert Humphrey, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. I have forgotten what lines he pilfered from Jackson. Conceivably it was the one about his coming from "the outhouse to the White House." I doubt he used Jesse's line about New York being "Hymie Town." But anything is possible. This is a longtime Democrat we are talking about.

During his 1988 trials it was also discovered that he had been guilty of plagiarizing in Law School. He bowed out of the 1988 race saying, "There'll be other presidential campaigns and I'll be there." Who said this originally I have not been able to discover, possibly it is a line from Shakespeare.
All the world's a stage, but some folks are best suited to sweeping up after the show.